every unusual word, every new compound, every metaphorical turn of meaning, to be found in our great writers, would be a compendium of the genius of our authors rather than of our language; and a lexicographer who rakes the books of second and third-rate men for out-of-the-way phrases is doing us no favor. A dictionary is not a drag-net to bring up for us the broken pots and dead kittens, the sewerage of speech, as well as its living fishes. Nor do we think it a fair test of such a work, that one should seek in it for every odd word that may have tickled his fancy in a favorite author. Like most middle-aged readers, we have our specially private volumes. One of these--but we will not betray the secret of our loves--contains some rare words, such as the Gallicism _mistresse-piece_, and the delightful hybrid _pundonnore_ for trifling points-of-honor; yet we by no means complain that we can find neither of them in Worcester, and only the former (with a ludicrously mistaken definition) in Webster. A conclusive reason with us for preferring Dr. Worcester's Dictionary is, that its author has properly understood his functions, and has aimed to give us a true view of English as it is, and not as he himself may have wished it should be or thought it ought to he. Its etymologies are sufficient for the ordinary reader,--sometimes superfluously full, as where the same word is given over and over again in cognate languages. We do not see the use, under the word PLAIN, of taking up room with a list like the following: "L. _planus;_ It. _piano;_ Sp. _piano;_ Fr. _plain._" Not content with this, Dr. Worcester gives it once more under PLAN: "L. _planus_, flat; It. _piano_, a plan; Sp. _piano;_ Fr. _plan._--Dut., Ger., Dan., and Sw. _plan._" Even yet we have not done with it, for under PLANE we find "L. _planus;_ It. _piano;_ Sp._plano_, Fr. _plan._" One would think this rather a Polyglot Lexicon than an English Dictionary. It seems to us that no Romanic derivative of the Latin root should he given, unless to show that the word has come into English by that channel. And so of the Teutonic languages. If we have Danish, Swedish, German, and Dutch, why not Scotch, Icelandic, Frisic, Swiss, and every other conceivable dialectic variety? Another fault of superfluousness we find in the number of compounded words, where the meaning is obvious,--such, for instance, as are formed with the adverb out, which the genius of the language permits without limit in the case of verbs. Dr. Worcester gives us, among many others,-- "OUT-BABBLE, _v. a._ To surpass in Idle prattle; to exceed in babbling. _Milton._" "OUT-BELLOW, _v. a._ To bellow more or louder than; to exceed or surpass in bellowing. _Bp. Hall._" "OUT-BLEAT, _v. a._ To bleat more than; to exceed in bleating. _Bp. Hall_." "OUT-BRAG, _v. a._ To surpass in bragging. _Shak._" "OUT-BRIBE, _v, a._ To exceed in bribing. _Blair._"